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Latest Stories from TidBITS

Not sure which of the new Apple devices — the iPhone 8, Apple Watch Series 3, and Apple TV 4K — are worth buying? Josh Centers has found the best reviews from the media outlets that were lucky enough to get pre-release products from Apple.

Apple has released macOS High Sierra as promised, so you can now download and install it. But when should you do that? Adam Engst urges caution, either by making sure you have a good backup first or by delaying your upgrade.

Here’s some disappointing news from MacRumors about Apple’s promised AirPower charging mat, which Apple says will wirelessly charge the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, Apple Watch Series 3, and AirPods in a special charging case. Since the Apple Watch has always used inductive charging, there was hope that older models would also work with the AirPower mat. That turns out not to be true: the AirPower mat will support only the Apple Watch Series 3. Older models will have to stick with their existing chargers.

Ever hit a situation where you couldn’t download iOS apps because you weren’t on Wi-Fi? (We haven’t.) If that has been a problem for you in the past, it should be less so now. Apple says: “We’ve increased the cellular download limit from 100 MB to 150 MB, letting customers download more apps from the App Store over their cellular network.”

Here’s a small but welcome tidbit: you now have 48 hours to finish watching an iTunes movie rental once you begin streaming it. Previously, you only had 24 hours, even though competing services usually offered 48 hours.

Due to an improperly negotiated HTTP/2 connection, Mail in iOS 11 is having trouble sending email with Outlook.com, Office 365, and Exchange Server 2016 accounts. Those who haven’t yet updated to iOS 11 and rely on Microsoft-hosted email should probably delay the upgrade. If you have already upgraded to iOS 11, you can either use Microsoft’s Outlook client or potentially disable HTTP/2 in Windows Server 2016.

Adam Engst reviews watchOS 4, which provides new features and tweaks to the Apple Watch interface. Overall, it’s a good and worthwhile update that fixes some glaring interface errors and improves overall functionality, but it’s not the sea change that watchOS 3 was.

Bothered by the ever-increasing prevalence of tech support phone scams? When you have some time to listen, check out the Reply All podcast’s two-part “Long Distance” show. It documents host Alex Goldman’s efforts to track down the company and people behind an Indian call center that tried to scam him.

If you converted a Fusion Drive to APFS during the macOS 10.13 High Sierra beta, we have some bad news: the initial release version of High Sierra that Apple plans to ship on 25 September 2017 will not officially support it. This unexpected announcement presumably comes due to problems discovered during the beta that the company hasn’t yet addressed. Apple recommends that you back up the Fusion Drive, reformat it using Mac OS Extended (HFS+), and restore it from backup. The support document implies that Apple will support APFS-formatted Fusion Drives in a later release of High Sierra.

Apple’s updated App Store rules now explicitly ban scam apps that claim to remove viruses or malware from your iOS device, in large part because sandboxing ensures that there’s no way they could do what they promise. Another new guideline requires developers to offer an alternative to Face ID authentication for users under the age of 13, and Apple says ARKit-driven augmented reality apps must be “rich experiences,” not just one-trick ponies. Apple’s goal in updating these policies is to keep iOS app quality high — or at least above some reasonable level.

With the Apple TV 4K coming, Apple has promised 4K and HDR upgrades to existing iTunes movies at no additional charge. We’re already seeing that on 2017 iPad Pro tablets running iOS 11 — the key is that the latest 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros have HDR-capable displays. Check Settings > TV > iTunes Videos and make sure the Download HDR Videos switch is enabled. Then, in the TV app, on the Library screen, tap a movie to see its listing; you’ll see 4K and HDR badges if Apple has updated the film. The Verge reports that these files on the iPad are 1080p and not 4K, but they do support HDR. Regardless, they look great.

Apple has updated iTunes, as it often does around this time of year. The new iTunes 12.7 has a few minor tweaks and one huge change: the removal of the iOS App Store. iTunes expert Kirk McElhearn looks at the most significant changes and digs into problems and solutions for those who manage iOS apps from their Macs.

Apple has quietly raised the prices of the 256 GB and 512 GB iPad Pro tablets by $50. This applies to both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+Cellular models, but the 64 GB models are unaffected. Some have speculated that the price hike is due to increased flash storage costs, but without an official statement from Apple, it’s impossible to say for sure.

Apple has announced the Apple Watch Series 3, which beefs up the smartwatch’s hardware in a variety of ways, most notably the addition of LTE cellular access. It’s a nice refresh but may not cause existing Apple Watch owners to buy again.

As expected, Apple took the wraps off a slate of new iPhones: the evolutionary iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, and the revolutionary iPhone X, which boasts a gorgeous edge-to-edge screen and drops the Home button, replacing Touch ID with Face ID. If you’re in the market for a new iPhone, which will you choose, given the iPhone X’s longer wait and higher price?

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